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Crispy Lemon Chicken with Brown Butter Greens and White Beans is the perfect, healthy-ish meal for busy weeknights. It’s versatile (switch out the kale for swiss chard, the white beans for chickpeas, etc.), easy to throw together, and something the whole family will love.
It came, it went.
The weekend that is.
Weekends are all too fleeting for our family these days, as January marks the month that I venture into parenthood and life in general, mostly solo. Kevin works in public accounting, so he’s a slave to spreadsheets, client meetings, and all things tax, Monday through Saturday, 12, sometimes 13 hours a day. The beginning days always seem insurmountably daunting, but come April 18th, I always look back and think it went relatively quickly, as time tends to – Kevin, on the other hand, doesn’t usually share my same sentiment, go figure.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, his firm provides dinner for the entire office, which more often than not consists of cold pizza or lackluster turkey sandwiches, so on the days he is home for dinner, I make sure to have a warm meal for us that doesn’t resemble either of the aforementioned whatsoever.
A lot of times, I’ll throw caution – and my diet – to the wind and whip up one of his favorite pastas, but after a whirlwind month of travel, which consequently left me sick and rundown, I’m trying to regularly put together healthy-ish meals (the focus of Bon Appetit’s January cover) the whole family will love – this Crispy Lemon Chicken is one of them.
Crispy chicken is a staple in our house for many reasons. First, it’s easy, obviously. Season the chicken, dredge in flour, dip in egg, cover in breadcrumbs, fry or bake, serve with roasted veggies, and you’ve got yourself a complete meal.
Second, it’s incredibly versatile. In the fall, you can add parmesan cheese, cover it in red sauce, mozzarella and call it chicken parmesan.
Top it with an easy arugula salad dressed with lemon, olive oil, and parmesan cheese for a light and airy spring meal.
Slide it between two pieces of mayo-slathered ciabatta, some lettuce, tomato and bacon, and you’ve got yourself a fancy BLT.
Or, you could do as I have today and add a little shredded asiago cheese and lemon zest to the breading and then serve it over a bed of brown butter greens and white beans.
Healthy-ish at its finest.
Happy Monday all.
- 1 lb chicken, 4 thin cutlets
- ¼ cup flour
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ plain breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated asiago cheese
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tsp.)
- 1 egg + 2 Tlbs water
- 3 + Tlbs. + 2 tsp. unsalted butter, divided
- 2 Tlbs. olive oil
- 4 cups roughly chopped kale (massaged)
- 1 (14 oz) can white beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 Tlbs. lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Add flour to a medium plate. Add panko, plain breadcrumbs, and cheese to another medium plate. Add ¼ tsp. of garlic powder and salt to each plate. Use a fork or whisk to combine. Add eggs and water to a shallow bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Dredge chicken in flour. Pat off excess. Dip in egg, let excess drip off. Dredge in panko mixture. Repeat with remaining chicken. Line up on a baking sheet.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet to a medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once the butter has melted, add chicken breasts to pan. Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side.
- Once cooked, transfer to a baking sheet lined with a cookie cooling rack and place in the oven while you cook the greens and beans.
- Raise the heat to medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon butter to pan. Once the butter begins to brown swirl the pan. Keep swirling the pan until the butter is golden brown and smells nutty. Reduce the heat to medium, and add kale, beans and garlic. Sauté until greens have started to wilt, about 3-4 minutes. Add salt. Stir to combine. Add white wine and lemon juice. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until the wine and lemon juice have reduced by half. Turn the heat to low and add remaining butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve chicken on top of greens. Spoon sauce on top.
Ashley@CookNourishBliss says
I tend to often forget about white beans … I need to change that! This chicken sounds fantastic! Happy Monday! 🙂
Nicole says
Thanks girl!
Nicole @ Young, Broke and Hungry says
You’re poor husband – that sounds grueling. But I bet he appreciates a warm cooked meal like this recipe here when he gets home.
I don’t buy meat very often, however, there is nothing better than breaded chicken w/ brown butter greens.
Nicole says
It is! Thanks Nicole!
Rachel @ Bakerita says
I seriously wish I had that dish in front of me for breakfast! It looks so delicious – I can never get enough of lemon-y chicken, and the brown butter greens make it even more swoon-worthy!
Nicole says
Thanks girl!
Bethany @ athletic avocado says
I’ve always been a lover of crispy breaded chicken, its such a flavorful and easy crowd-pleasing meal! This version looks amazing, almost gourmet-like!
Nicole says
Thanks so much Bethany!
Josh says
I made this today and it was delicious!
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Nicole says
So glad you liked it Josh!
No says
Why do you abbreviate ‘tablespoon’ as “tlbs”? The l comes after the b.
Nicole says
Because I don’t have a functioning brain since having a child. Thanks for pointing out my grammatical error. Have a lovely day!
Cindy says
How long should you leave the chicken in the oven?
Nicole says
Just until the greens are done! It’s just to keep the chicken warm and crispy!
Veronica says
At what point do I add the cheese. According to recipe, it states to add cheese to a plate. But there’s no directions for it afterward. Can you please tell me at what point do I add this to the recipe? Thank you!
Nicole says
So the cheese gets mixed with the panko, breadcrumbs, garlic powder and salt! You dredge the chicken in it. Hope that helps!